The NFL’s final training-camp holdout is coming to an end.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson will make his return to the Queen City for Wednesday’s practice, and he’ll do so without the new contract he’d been hoping to secure before the season, according to ESPN.
As reported by NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Hendrickson’s return serves as a ‘good-faith gesture’ to reignite dormant negotiations.
Daily Mail has reached out to Hendrickson’s agent for comment.
Hendrickson, who is due to earn $16 million in the final year of his contract this season, has publicly expressed his desire for a contract extension in Cincinnati. And when camp started last week, the All-Pro highlighted his distance from the team by posting a photo from Florida online.
The team recently got some good news about its other holdout, first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who has now signed his rookie deal and joined teammates at training camp after squabbling with the front office over language in the contract. The team was in need of help along the defensive line after the retirement of another defensive end, popular Cincinnati-area native Sam Hubbard.
Trey Hendrickson will make his return to the Queen City for Wednesday’s practice without the new contract he’d been hoping to secure before the season, according to ESPN
Cincinnati Bengals players huddle during practice at the team’s training camp on Sunday
The Bengals have also faced a salary cap crunch since signing quarterback Joe Burrow’s favorite targets Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contract extensions totaling $276 million this offseason.
Currently the pair accounts for less than 17 percent of the team’s cap figure, but that number balloons to more than 20 percent in 2028, making a long-term deal for Hendrickson a bit more complicated.
Hendrickson signed an extension in 2023 that will keep him in tiger stripes through the 2025 season, where he will make a base salary of $15.8 million and count for $18.6 million against Cincinnati’s cap number.
Prior to the draft, the Bengals gave Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, but within weeks those talks were off the table, according to Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
The former Florida Atlantic standout sounded optimistic about a new deal in early April despite struggling to come to terms with the Bengals.
First-round pick Shemar Stewart has joined the Bengals after his rookie holdout
‘I wouldn’t call it frustrating,’ Hendrickson told WLWT Cincinnati. ‘It gives me an opportunity to prove my worth every season.’
The four-time Pro Bowl selection recorded 18 sacks in each of his last two seasons in Cincinnati, where he signed in 2021.
‘I’ve been able to achieve All-Pro honors, Pro Bowl honors,’ he told WLWT in March. ‘It’s been a heck of a ride and to play with some of the most talented players in the league like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson, BJ Hill, I could list every player, Ted Karras is on that list too.
‘I’m just tremendously blessed, the relationships I’ve made. How ever it shakes out, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.’
At least for now, Hubbard appears to be headed back to Cincinnati for the immediate future.
